A decision to move production of the Land Rover Discovery from Solihull to Slovakia has been described as "a severe blow" by a borough councillor.

It was announced on Monday that work on the model will be transferred from the Lode Lane factory to the continent from early next year, raising concerns for the workforce at the Indian-owned car marque.

Cllr Ade Adeyemo (Lib Dem, Lyndon) said that the decision would inevitably lead to uncertainty.

(Image: Darren Quinton)

"I speak to a lot of residents in Elmdon and Lyndon who work at JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) ," he said, emphasising the importance of the business as a local employer.

"I think sometimes we can assume that JLR will just grow and grow and take that for granted."

Acknowledging concerns about jobs, he said that the "ideal situation" would be if the gap created by the Discovery could be filled by the work generated from new projects - such as Range Rovers and electric car production.

He said that he would continue to work with party colleagues to support employees who live and work in Solihull.

The announcement comes on the back of news in April that 1,000 agency staff were to be axed by the business.

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In a statement, JLR said: "The decision to move the Land Rover Discovery to Slovakia and the potential losses of some agency employed staff in the UK is a tough one but forms part of our long-term manufacturing strategy as we transform our business globally."

The car giant has also said that Lode Lane would benefit from "a significant investment and technology upgrade".